God's perfect wisdom in the management of our affairs!
(James Buchanan)
"The Lord reigns!" Psalm 97:1
The Bible lays a solid ground for our comfort, when it assures us that all things are under the government of God. He superintends the affairs of this world, both as the provident parent and as the moral governor of His creatures.
The Bible declares that God created them, and that whatever beings He deigned to create--He does not disdain to care for. It assures us that no being is so great as to be exempt from His control--and none are so little as to be beneath His regard. And, in like manner, that His eye is directed to every eventwhich may befall any one of His creatures--with no event being either so momentous, or so insignificant--as to be beyond His management, or unworthy of His notice. The sparrow which falls to the earth--is not less an object of His regard than the seraph that stands before His throne!
That all His creatures in this world, and all the events of human life, of whatever kind they may be--are under God's regulation and control--is, of itself, fitted to banish that feeling of uncertainty and hopelessness which the aspect of events might otherwise awaken. And how important to know . . .
that nothing happens by chance,
that everything is ordained and appointed according to certain divine principles which are fixed and stable,
and that these principles will continue to be developed, until the grand end of God's government shall have been attained!
But, however important this information may be, it could ill suffice to cheer the heart amidst its sorrows, or to inspire that living hope which alone can bear us up under their heavy pressure--were we not further assured, that the government under which we live is conducted by . . .
a God of infinite intelligence and wisdom;
a being who cannot err--one who knows the end from the beginning; and
is alike incapable of choosing an improper end, or of employing unsuitable means for its attainment.
A persuasion of God's perfect wisdom in the management of our affairs is the more needful, in proportion as we feel our own helplessness, and are taught, by disappointments and trials--that our affairs are too high and too great to be managed by ourselves. And when assured of this precious truth, we shall the more readily submit to all God's appointments--satisfied, that although we know not the plan of His operations--yet it is known and approved of by One whose wisdom is the best guarantee of the universe.
And thus, too, will the idea of blind fate be excluded, not less than the idea of chance.
Still the heart desires something more. It is not enough that the world is neither left to the random vicissitudes of chance--nor governed by a blind and inexorable fate. It is not enough for our comfort to know that a God of infinite intelligence presides over its affairs, and that its laws are the emanations of His unerring wisdom. Great and glorious as these discoveries are, the heart longs to know the character, not less than the wisdom of that Almighty Being--and to be made acquainted, if not with His secret purposes, at least with the nature of His moral perfections, and His dispositions towards ourselves. "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Romans 5:8
(James Buchanan)
"The Lord reigns!" Psalm 97:1
The Bible lays a solid ground for our comfort, when it assures us that all things are under the government of God. He superintends the affairs of this world, both as the provident parent and as the moral governor of His creatures.
The Bible declares that God created them, and that whatever beings He deigned to create--He does not disdain to care for. It assures us that no being is so great as to be exempt from His control--and none are so little as to be beneath His regard. And, in like manner, that His eye is directed to every eventwhich may befall any one of His creatures--with no event being either so momentous, or so insignificant--as to be beyond His management, or unworthy of His notice. The sparrow which falls to the earth--is not less an object of His regard than the seraph that stands before His throne!
That all His creatures in this world, and all the events of human life, of whatever kind they may be--are under God's regulation and control--is, of itself, fitted to banish that feeling of uncertainty and hopelessness which the aspect of events might otherwise awaken. And how important to know . . .
that nothing happens by chance,
that everything is ordained and appointed according to certain divine principles which are fixed and stable,
and that these principles will continue to be developed, until the grand end of God's government shall have been attained!
But, however important this information may be, it could ill suffice to cheer the heart amidst its sorrows, or to inspire that living hope which alone can bear us up under their heavy pressure--were we not further assured, that the government under which we live is conducted by . . .
a God of infinite intelligence and wisdom;
a being who cannot err--one who knows the end from the beginning; and
is alike incapable of choosing an improper end, or of employing unsuitable means for its attainment.
A persuasion of God's perfect wisdom in the management of our affairs is the more needful, in proportion as we feel our own helplessness, and are taught, by disappointments and trials--that our affairs are too high and too great to be managed by ourselves. And when assured of this precious truth, we shall the more readily submit to all God's appointments--satisfied, that although we know not the plan of His operations--yet it is known and approved of by One whose wisdom is the best guarantee of the universe.
And thus, too, will the idea of blind fate be excluded, not less than the idea of chance.
Still the heart desires something more. It is not enough that the world is neither left to the random vicissitudes of chance--nor governed by a blind and inexorable fate. It is not enough for our comfort to know that a God of infinite intelligence presides over its affairs, and that its laws are the emanations of His unerring wisdom. Great and glorious as these discoveries are, the heart longs to know the character, not less than the wisdom of that Almighty Being--and to be made acquainted, if not with His secret purposes, at least with the nature of His moral perfections, and His dispositions towards ourselves. "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Romans 5:8
"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!" Revelation 19:6
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